Recently, there have been frequent good news, which has caused Li Tang Junchen to feel a sense of paralysis in his heart. I always thought that my own soldiers and horses were the sharpest in the world, and cutting off the heroes from all over the world was just a matter of course. Unexpectedly, the tens of thousands of elite soldiers sent to Hebei were actually beaten by the grass-headed king Dou Jiande. You must know that not long ago, the same Dou family army was driven from Shanggu to Wuyang County by Luo Yi and Li Zhongjian like rabbits. One retreat is six or seven hundred miles.

"How is this possible? General Cheng took an entire county with 5,000 soldiers and horses! Li Gang, the Zhan Shi of the East Palace, couldn't hold his breath the most, and turned around and muttered to his colleagues, but his voice was heard clearly by everyone.

"Didn't Li Zhanshi just say that Cheng Mingzhen's victory was all based on luck?" As a hardcore Qin Dynasty boss, Sun Shunde, was unwilling to let go of such a good opportunity to strike his opponent, and immediately stood up and sneered and mocked.

"Ugh!" Li Gang was choked so much that he didn't catch his breath, his face was full of bruises, "So-and-so, so-and-so said that General Cheng borrowed His Majesty's fortune." Yes, you can ......."

But for a long time, he didn't come for a reason. Sweat broke out on his forehead. Zhu Shoude, the widow of the former dynasty, couldn't bear to see Li Gang embarrassed, arched his hand, and said in a low voice: "According to Zhu, there is indeed a lot of luck in that war. Maybe it was because Dou Jiande transferred all the elites in his hands to the vicinity of Liaocheng that General Cheng caught the gap! ”

"That's five thousand against fifteen thousand. There are 40,000 soldiers in the army of the Luoyang Mansion, and Dou Jiande has the ability to train 120,000 soldiers in one year? Zhou Yu, the squire of the military department, was also very dissatisfied with the defeat in front of him, and said with a frown.

"yes, yes." A few nearby ministers who knew a little bit about military strategy nodded frequently. "This time, I'm afraid it's too big!"

"Alas, this time Liaocheng is estimated to have fallen into the hands of Dou Jiande. The heirloom of the previous dynasty, and there are so many important ministers of the humerus......"

Seeing that the ministers were talking about useless words, Li Yuan was so angry that he slapped the table hard, "Shut up for me." When is it, I still have to take care of the things of the previous dynasty. Who will pick up the Duke of Luoyang back? Although he lost the battle, after all, he was my general of the Tang Dynasty. There are so many brothers, I can't throw them all in Hebei, can I?"

"Your Majesty is right, the ministers are guilty!" Everyone had never seen such a big fire as Li Yuan, so they hurriedly bowed down together to apologize.

"Forget it. If I had three heads and six arms, I could do everything myself. I'll just drive you all home to retire! Li Yuan shook his head helplessly and sighed in a low voice. With that, he looked at the messenger, who was already exhausted and paralyzed, "Come, bring him a bowl of ginseng soup." Move another sheepskin embroidered pier and let him sit down and talk! ”

"Thanks, thanks...... Your Majesty! "The messenger was so moved that his eyes were hot, and he threw his hand upwards with a strong spirit." Your Majesty, although our army was defeated, the Duke of Luoyang dealt with it properly, and the brothers still had at least sixty percent left. Please send someone to your Majesty's fire! ”

"I know. You sit down and speak slowly. I'll definitely send reinforcements today! If I can't find a suitable candidate, I will lead the defenders of the Beijing Division to conquer in person! Li Yuan nodded and solemnly promised.

"No, Your Majesty, never!" Song Guogong Xiao Yu was shocked and was the first to rush out to refute. "Your Majesty is the son of heaven of the Tang Dynasty, and he is concerned about the safety of the country, so he can't take risks easily. Besides, I'm full of talents......"

"Talent, where is the talent? Do you show it to me? I am the son of heaven of the Tang Dynasty, and the Duke of Luoyang is my own nephew! If he has three longs and two shorts, you let me explain to my deceased brother? ”

Speaking of the second half of the sentence, Li Yuan's eyes turned red. Before he sat on the throne, he always imagined that one day he would be a lonely man and become a constitution. But after really sitting on the dragon chair, I deeply realized the loneliness in it. It turned out that there was nothing to talk about, and the old brothers who worked together gradually divided into several factions and attacked each other endlessly. The sons of the original love each other said their own things, and they fought openly and secretly for the position of heir. It turns out that he can always give himself advice in time, and there is a taboo in his heart, and he can't wait to go around eight circles when he says a word. knew this, why did he have to force Yang Yu to give in. Isn't it better to be a powerful minister who can wear a sword when entering and leaving the palace?

"Your Majesty, don't worry, the old minister is willing to lead the army to fight and take back the Duke of Luoyang." Seeing that the master was in a hurry, Qu Tutong, the secretary of the military department, took a few steps forward and took the initiative to ask for help.

"No, you can't. If there is no veteran general Qutu sitting in the center, there will definitely be problems with the deployment of soldiers, horses, equipment, grain and grass from all walks of life. Song Guogong Xiao Yu shook his head and once again vetoed an emergency proposal.

Li Yuan himself did not want Qu Tutong to go on the expedition. One is that he needs a qualified military division, and after all, Qu Tutong is a general of the Great Sui, and it may be difficult to suppress those arrogant soldiers when he goes to the front line. Easing his emotions a little, he said in a low voice: "Old General Qu Tu can come out, of course, it is the best. But I can't live without you for a day. Xiao Qing, since you can't say anything I say. You must already have the right person in mind, so you might as well say it first! ”

Qu Tutong arched his hand and slowly retreated to his position. Li Yuan was not at ease about handing over the army to himself, and he was very disappointed that he arrived. But the fate of himself and his family is now firmly tied to the rise and fall of Datang, so no matter how regretful or resentful he is, he still has to plan for Datang without reservation, do his best, and die.

"No need to send anyone to pick it up!" Song Guogong Xiao Yu thought about it and replied in a low voice. Dou Jiande's eyes were staring at Liaocheng. He came from a humble background, so the seal of the previous dynasty and the queen mother and princess of the previous dynasty are very important to him. After obtaining the jade seal, and then getting the personal praise of the empress dowager of the previous dynasty, it is equivalent to him sitting on the throne of King Xia, and he has a legitimate reason to compete with our army for the world. Therefore, Weichen thought that Dou Jiande would not chase after Luoyang Gong. Even if they chase, they will send a few soldiers and horses to follow and take advantage of the chaos. And if you don't let go of Yu Culture and don't fight, you have to eat the soldiers and horses of our army along the way. ”

His words were slow, but every word fell clearly into the ears of the people. When the people who were still in turmoil heard this, they were in high spirits, and they nodded their heads in agreement: "It should be so, otherwise he won't be Dou Jiande!" ”

"Why didn't I expect that Song Guogong would see it and show up with a word!"

"Song is just guessing, the specific situation has to be decided by His Majesty!" Xiao Yu knew very well about advance and retreat, and arched his hand, directing everyone's attention to Li Yuan.

"Hmm!" Li Yuan nodded lightly. "With so many brothers at stake, I was really anxious just now. It's a shame to have Xiao Qing remind, otherwise you have to mess up! ”

"Lord Xiao is right. But our army must do something to remedy, lest Dou Jiande really jump off the wall in a hurry! Since the messenger entered the hall, Pei Lian, who had been bowing his head and pondering, suddenly raised his head and suggested with a smile.

"Pei Qing has a way, Pei Qing don't sell it, talk quickly!" As soon as Li Yuan saw Pei Lian's relaxed smile, he knew that he must have a good idea. Hurry up and urge.

"Wei Jun, who just got his hands, does Your Majesty still want to do it?" Pei Lin nodded and asked with a smile.

"The earth is dead, but man is alive. As long as both Luyang Gong and Cheng Mingzhen can bring back the remaining soldiers and horses, what if Wei County is just Wei County, let Dou Jiande occupy it for a few days? Li Yuan shook his head and said without hesitation.

This is Li Yuan. She looks like a mother-in-law and mother-in-law, like an old lady who has nothing to do, and at the critical moment, she can definitely afford to take it and put it down. Pei Lin admired Li Yuan the most, smiled, and said loudly: "Okay, then please Your Majesty issue two holy decrees, and order the Grand Governor of Boling and the Grand Governor of Youzhou to immediately assemble troops and horses to demonstrate to Dou Jiande!" ”

"This ......" Li Yuan hesitated. Boling and Youzhou were the two fiefdoms that he had to establish at the beginning of his army in order to win the allies as much as possible. The governors of the two places are nominally Tang courtiers, but in fact, military affairs, civil affairs, and personnel appointments and dismissals are completely independent, and they do not have to obey the orders of the Tang Dynasty at all. After the unification of the world, for the long-term stability of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan will definitely gradually return power to the central government. In this situation, the strategy he adopted was not to give the Boling Army and the Youzhou Army any chance to continue to grow stronger, and not to give each other a chance. In order to avoid the tail of the two armies in the future, it will be difficult for the imperial court to bear the price of cutting the domain.

"Hurry up with power. Besides, the two generals Li and Luo are not ambitious people! Pei Lin smiled and continued.

"Of course I believe in their loyalty. But sometimes, the situation is not up to the task! Li Yuan sighed and said with a smile. This is a big truth. Any loyalty will not be static, just like myself back then, was not the same as being loyal to the Great Sui at the beginning? But what about later? The external situation, the respect of his subordinates, and a series of other reasons made him finally decide to replace Yang Sui.

"If the center is a dragon, the tiger will only deter the barbarians from all directions for the Tang Dynasty." Pei Lin smiled and continued, "If the center is already as weak as a sheep, I'm afraid not only will it be difficult for the tigers of the border to control, but the wolves of the four realms will also rise up and howl!" ”

"Yes!" Li Yuan nodded happily. "It's according to Pei Qing's intentions. Ask Song Guogong to prepare a decree for me, and lead the Youzhou army and the Boling army to the south to threaten Dou Jiande's lair. How to fight and to what extent, they themselves have the final say. The territory they have conquered is also governed by their own officials. ”

Xiao Yu, the Duke of Song, originally wanted to oppose it, but after hearing that Li Yuan had already made up his mind, after thinking about it, he gave up his own proposition. Seeing that Li Yuan had adopted his suggestion, Pei Lin smiled and continued: "Youzhou and Boling are too far away, even if they take action immediately after receiving His Majesty's will, I am afraid it can only play a role in curbing Dou Jiande's ambitions, so that he will not be able to take advantage of the opportunity to go west after cleaning up Yu Culture and later. If you want Luoyang to return fairly, Your Majesty might as well give another emergency military order and let Cheng Mingzhen go to meet the Duke of Luoyang, and then the two troops and horses will merge into one and retreat to the west side of Taihang Mountain together! ”

"Yes, General Cheng is very familiar with the terrain in that area. Presumably, it is difficult for Dou Jiande's people to play any ambushes, interceptions and other means! Xiao Qing, I bother you to write this military order together, and after writing it, I will immediately use it for my seal, and then send it to the front line in an expedited manner for 800 miles! Wei County, the land of projectiles, I don't want it. Tens of thousands of tigers are left, and sooner or later I will have to return this account with Dou Jiande with interest! Li Yuan nodded and said with a smile.